Ok, you know when as a kid, you are forced to eat something so often that sooner or later you are totally turned off by it, for like, umm…EVER?! I recently had this conversation with someone who had this experience with beets (too bad, they really are delicious when roasted). 

Well, my too much of a good thing comes not in the form one single food, but rather an entire meal; and that is Chicken Tetrazzini. Had it?  Heard of it? No?  Yeah, probably not many have, as spell check even has the red squiggly line under Tetrazzini as I type this, indicating to me that not enough people have used that word enough to garner it common place and worthy of no squiggles.  

Chicken Tetrazzini or ‘Tet!’ as my dad used to call it in grand anticipation, (I’m still not sure how that man did not tire of it) is a casserole complied of noodles, heavy cream, chicken and Parmesan as it’s main ingredients.  Even today as I strictly adhere to my plant-based (vegan) diet, it doesn’t sound really that bad. But, again, too much of a good thing, is well, not good.

Now, for whatever reason that still baffles me, I have been thinking about that dish a lot lately.  I love a good challenge, one where I am the underdog and come out swinging (Sounds dreamy, huh?  Yeah, it doesn’t happen too often). With the handful of non-vegan ingredients, I challenged myself to not only make Tet, but make it just like moms; I wanted to be transported back (mumble mumble) years ago and fill the house with the scent of Tet AND it had to look like it, too. 

I started swapping. The butter was now Earth Balance.  The original called for all-purpose flour, so I substituted in One Degree Organic’s Whole Wheat Flour (read about them!).  Noodles were now egg free, heavy cream was swapped for non-dairy plain coffee creamer (I used So Delicious) and the chicken was now, non other than St. Louis based Match Meat. I added in a little dried rosemary and made my own Parmesan using nutritional yeast, walnuts and a bit of sea salt.  

As the Tet cooked, the house slowly filled with that familiar scent.  And when I pulled it from the oven, I’ll admit, I was nervous.  Why?  Many reasons: Did I do as well as mom, did I want to do as well as mom?, what if it totally sucks and I really can’t veganize this - I would have failed.

I took a bite and almost began to cry as the memories came flooding back.  The house was filled with the old familiar scent and I was tasting flavors of years ago.  Next, the husband test.  Passed that one too as he went back for seconds, and no, I did not starve him for two days prior.  However, the ULTIMATE test was mom.  Again, I was a little apprehensive as I served it up to her, and damn if that woman didn’t inhale it!  Now I can call the recipe a success.

Vegan Chicken Tetrazzini

1 C Earth Balance buttery spread

¼ C whole wheat flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 ½ TB dried rosemary

1 ¼ C vegetable broth

1 C dairy free plain creamer

7 oz egg free spaghetti noodles

8 oz Match Meat, chicken flavor

8 oz jarred sliced mushrooms

½ C vegan Parmesan (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 °.  Melt the Earth Balance in a large sauce pan over low heat.  Blend in the salt, pepper and  rosemary.  Stir until well mixed.  Mix in broth and creamer and continue to stir.  Add noodles, Match Meat and mushrooms.  Once well integrated, pour mixture into an 8 X 8 casserole dish, top with vegan Parmesan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Broil for 1 minute for a browned crispy top.

Vegan Parmesan

1 C nutritional yeast

¼ C walnuts

1 tsp salt 

Mix all ingredients in a mini food processor and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ok, so check this out.  I don’t have an insatiable sweet tooth and I certainly could go the rest of my life without any kind of gummy candy, so, when the nice folks at Surf Sweets sent me a care package of their products I’ll admit I was skeptical.  The packages actually sat around in my house for several weeks and kept getting overlooked due to my whirlwind lifestyle.  Finally, I broke into them one night when I was babysitting my girlfriends kiddos.  I figure - If I’m not wild about them, I can leave them for her.  

I’ll cut to the chase.  Buy these. The flavor was so different from any other similar type of candy (think Swedish Fish, or Haribro Gummy Bears).  Surf Sweets are not overly sugary, they actually taste like fruit and does not linger in your mouth as conventional gummies (is there such a thing?) tend to.

In their folder of information that accompanied the candy, they say their Natural and Organic candy is:

-Made with organic fruit juice, sweeteners, colors and flavors

-100% RDA of Vitamin A

-Free of corn syrup and GMOs

-Made in a nut-free facility

-Gluten, dairy and casein free

-Made right here in the USA       

And, yes I DID leave what was left (not much….) for the kids - but only because I cannot be trusted around something I consider a treat and these are a real treat.